NHL Division 1A: Galway 1-21 Cork 2-20
Ben O’Connor’s manifesto was declared in response to a question after he had complained about being unable to get messages into his team during play. Would he like to see the return of the maor foirne, the on-field messenger role discontinued five years ago?
“We’re gone like soccer, aren’t we? Black cards, red cards, yellow cards, technical areas. We are following that game. Look, that is the fellas above trying to cleanse hurling. That is what they are trying to do if you want to be fair about it.
“They don’t want any dust-up, they don’t want any bit of blood spilt, they don’t want a hurley broke, they want to make it a nice game for my little Johnny at home. Genuine hurling people don’t want that. They want a good, hard physical game.
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“No one is hurt when it is played that way. There wasn’t a dirty stroke pulled outside there tonight. No one got hurt. That is higher above; they are trying to take the manliness out of the game, in my opinion.”
O’Connor’s unvarnished, ‘whatever it takes’ philosophy was well enough known when he took the reins in Cork, so its atavistic framing will hardly take anyone by surprise.
There was also plenty of positives for the manager in a feisty tussle under lights in Galway on Saturday evening when a two-goal salvo off the bench in the last 10 minutes from the returning Brian Hayes made the difference.
“We knew coming up here we were going to get a battle. They put it up to Tipp last Saturday night. Ran out of steam in the end, back home for their first league game here, that is the way it goes. When you have a home league game, it is definitely worth a few scores to you.”
Galway opened with animated intent, not letting anything stick in their defence and pressing relentlessly up front. Cathal Mannion was everywhere and after the first quarter, they led by seven, 1-7 to 0-3 and were dominating the Cork puckout.
The goal was a well put together move that saw John Fleming identify Jason Rabbitte and his pass inside to Tom Monaghan saw the centrefielder race in to score.
If there was a shadow on the performance, it was the conversion rate, at eight from 13, compared to their opponents’ three from three shots. Unless the visitors could be restricted to those sorts of numbers for the whole match, there could be trouble ahead. So it proved, when Cork took seven of the last eight points before half-time to trim their deficit to just one at the break, 0-11 to 1-9.
The damage was being done in the half-back zone where previously Daithí Burke, switching with Cillian Trayers – who on the inside line went on to have another very composed match – Pádraic Mannion and Daniel Loftus had controlled the play.
By half-time, Cork captain Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett and Séamus Harnedy had shot 0-7 from play – they would end up with 0-13, six from Barrett with Fitzgibbon also contributing assists for both goals.
For Galway manager Micheál Donoghue it was a second narrow defeat by one of last year’s All-Ireland finalists but any taint of ‘moral victory’ has to be set against last season’s experience of losing to the same two opponents by 12 points each.
“There’s a great energy, great spirit. They’re working really hard with Franny [Forde, coach] and the lads on the pitch. I think they’re really enjoying that and I think you can see that on the pitch.
“The biggest thing we constantly look for is that they’re transferring what we’re doing on from the training ground down to the pitch and there were really good periods of that, again.”
The opportunity to roll over was there for the inexperienced home team but they resisted and went toe-to-toe from the resumption to the hour mark when Cork’s bench started to have an impact.
Fitzgibbon’s penetrating run in the 61st minute set up Hayes for the first goal after a Mannion free had nudged Galway ahead.
Four minutes later, a similar second goal extended the margin to seven, 2-20 to 1-16 and a deluge threatened.
Once again, heels were dug in and in a defiant closing blitz, Aaron Niland took up the free taking and finished the match with five unanswered points, four very accomplished dead ball strikes and another from play.
Improbably, as the match ended, Cork were clinging on, as Galway lumped the ball in, in pursuit of the win.
A very useful outing for both teams.
Cork: P Collins; N O’Leary, D O’Leary, E Roche; E Downey, R Downey, M Coleman; T O’Connell (0-1), B O’Sullivan (0-1); D Fitzgibbon (capt; 0-3), S Barrett (0-6), S Harnedy (0-4); B Roche, D Dalton, A Connolly (0-4, 3f). Subs: B Hayes (2-0) for B Roche (half-time), T O’Mahony (0-1) for B O’Sullivan (half-time), R O’Flynn for Dalton (48 mins), H O’Connor for Harnedy (64 mins), B Keating for Fitzgibbon (70 mins).
Galway: D Fahy; R Glennon, C Trayers, J Ryan; P Mannion, D Burke, D Loftus; G Lee (capt; 0-3), T Monaghan (1-0); D Neary (0-1), C Mannion (0-10, 8f), J Fleming; D McLaughlin (0-1), J Rabbitte, A Niland (0-5, 4f). Subs: C Molloy (0-1) for Fleming (28 mins), TJ Brennan for Glennon (43 mins), C Fahy for Burke (51 mins), S Linnane for Monaghan (58 mins), C Daniels for Trayers (65 mins).
Referee: M Kennedy (Tipperary).
